Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Meet a PNB Ambassador: Francis Wainchom Nkwain II, Public Relations and Communication Mogul

Francis Wainchom Nkwain II



It never seizes to impress me how exciting the reality of the North West Region is. Its people and geographical attributes are a reality and yes there’s more that can be done but when you look at what is there already, there’s much to be excited about.   

I studied at Sacred Heart College, Mankon before doing my A’Levels in St. Joseph’s College Sasse. I read Law at Brunel University and went to work for numerous years in the Entertainment, Publishing and institutional Politics sectors before founding a Public Relations and Communications outfit.  I currently operate in London and Yaoundé. My client list covers a spectrum of individuals and corporations from big business to professional athletes and artistes, with a single common denominator, their African identity. I also run www.horizononline.org, a pan-African platform that supports the promotion of Africa’s success stories, a small contribution to the wider issue of the repositioning of the African in the modern world.

It would be unfair to promote generalizations but I do think there are three key qualities that form the thread that sows the North West Region and its people together:

Tradition: a great appreciation for history and culture and a general understanding of the need to be true to the values that bind its numerous tribes.

Respect: Be it for each other or the institutions that shaped and continue to shape it, the North-Westerner is respectful of assigned roles.

Pride: A combination of the above (Tradition and Respect) inspires Pride in its daughters and sons, a pride borne of a sense of identity and a sense of responsibility as custodians of values that precede us.

In very specific terms, I am keen to see Bamenda play a very important part in the opening up of Cameroon to the Nigerian market place with the new transportation links being developed. We are currently developing 2 key strategic partnerships with 2 Nigerian agro-industrialists to accompany this commitment and thereby expand on the productivity and economic opportunities available through industrialized farming.

I have been a fan of the energy of the people behind Project New Bamenda as individuals so to see them fusing their efforts into a project like PNB, I am both excited and optimistic as I think the project both commendable and much needed to gather and garner a much-needed synergy that could make Bamenda and the North West pivotal to the emergence of our nation.

I hope that my children inherit a Bamenda City and a North West Region that is the envy of the continent. We have the talent, quite simply lack the platforms that permit the talent to shine and develop further. Young “soldiers” like Tito, Jovi, February 16,  T’neeya, DebraDebs but to name a few…They are “taking” what is rightfully theirs rather than waiting to be given a chance. It’s a great spirit!!!

One Last One

As proud son of Kom, I enjoy abain (fufu corn) , mbas (vegetable) and katti katti (chicken). I have a particular soft spot for the undulating valleys and hills of that particularly picturesque corner of the North West. However, overall, I am what you could term a “Bamenda-Boy” harbouring a very strong bond with a rather loose concept of identity rooted in a geographical location imbued with cultural effervescence of a kind unmatched, let alone unsurpassed by any other.






1 comment:

  1. Awesome. Bamenda has always fascinated me. Thus, on one of my rare trips 'up kontri' I wrote a piece titled: I weep for Bamenda. Check it out my blog: www.canutetangwa.com

    ReplyDelete